Software for engineering students
In the following list you will find free software around the engineering sciences
Again and again, students are looking for software to process and solve special problems in mechanical engineering. Typical questions are:
- How can I create a technical illustration?
- Which software can be used to simulate dynamic models?
- Can I set up my own Wiki?
- Which programming language is suitable for an easy start?
The listed software is free: in most cases it is freeware or open source software. However, some programs are free of charge only for KIT students if they have an account with the software shop of KIT Campus South (KIT).
Dead links found, suggestions, criticism, new software? Please short info.
Program |
Download link |
Notes |
CAD/3D |
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| Dazzler | Download | 3D modelling and animation |
| Creo | KIT | No.1 3D-CAD system at IPEK |
CAS |
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| Maxima | Download | Comparable to Maple |
| Axiom | Download | Comparable to Maple |
| Euler | Download | Sophisticated mathematics package |
| Yacas | Download | Comparable to Maple |
| Gnuplot | Download | For plotting curves, surfaces from various data sources |
| Geogebra | Download | Design geometries interactively. For example, calculating trajectories... |
| MathCAD | KIT | |
| Legend Math | Download | Server-based mathematics framework. CAS, numerics, scripting. |
Numerics/Simulation |
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| Octave | Download | Command line based numeric tool, see Matlab |
| Scilab | Download | Very similar to Matlab AND Simulink |
| Gnuplot | Download | For plotting curves, surfaces from various data sources |
| Simforge | Download | Editor functions for OpenModelica |
| Dynamicssolver | Download | Very good and fast calculation of multi-body dynamics problems |
| Matlab | KIT | No.1 tool for numerical mathematics |
| Maple | KIT | No.1 tool for computer algebra |
Diagrams |
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| yed | Download | Extremely intuitive and fast diagram plotter (trees, networks, relationships, ...) |
| ProcessModeler | Download | For process models |
| Freemind | Download | Mindmaps |
Vector graphics |
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| inkscape | Download | Highly flexible vector graphics. Can open and save PDF. Many plugins, e.g. draw gears, integrate mathematical formula symbols (LaTex). |
| scribus | Download | DTP, e.g. for booklets, flyers, posters, etc. |
| CorelCampus | KIT | |
| Visio | KIT | Vector graphics of all kinds |
Image editing |
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| paint.net | Download | Probably the best program for quick image editing |
| GIMP | Download | Photoshop clone |
| irfanview | Download | Fast image viewing, cropping etc. |
| xnview | Download | Fast image viewing, cropping etc. |
Text editorsThere are many text editors. The following two programs, however, combine the most functions. |
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| Komodo | Download | Source code editor. Extremely good RegEx implementation (Search & Replace) |
| notepad++ | Download | Very slim, doesn't annoy, doesn't cost a thing, opens pretty much everything that is text, understandable settings for character encoding (UTF-8, ANSI, ...) |
Literature administration |
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| zotero | Download | Firefox plugin. Should be mandatory for every student! |
| refbase | Download | Server-based literature management. For larger projects. |
Web server |
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| XAMPP | Download | The free Apache - MySQL - Perl - PHP server framework. Easy to install. |
Wiki |
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| Dokuwiki | Download | Great wiki tool. Runs reliably under XAMPP. Many useful plugins. Pages are stored text-based (no SQL database). This allows easy manual intervention, backup and migration. Therefore great Wiki to get started. |
Office |
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| OpenOffice | Download | MS Office clone |
| OneNote | KIT | Make notes easily and flexibly for any purpose. Truly recommended as an electronic notebook. |
Tablet PC |
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| OneNote | KIT | Make notes easily and flexibly for any purpose. Truly recommended as an electronic notebook. Recognizes handwriting. Allows searching handwritten notes. |
| Physics Illustrator | Download | Just awesome |
Programming |
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| Eclipse | Download | Powerful tool |
| SVN | Download | Management of source code (or other text, e.g. thesis). Enables the versioning of files. |
| Visual Studio | KIT | |
| NetBeans | Download | |
Programming languages |
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| Python | Download | One of the most popular scripting languages. Tons of modules. |
| Perl | Download | One of the most popular scripting languages. Tons of modules. |
| Java | Download | |
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| PDFXCview | Download | View, comment, edit, convert PDFs, ... |
| Foxit Reader | Download | View, comment, edit, convert PDFs, ... |
| pdfsam | Download | PDFs split, merge, erase pages, ... |
| PDF Creator | Download | Create PDFs easily |